Federal officials are investigating a reported engine fire that forced a Southwest Airlines plane to cancel takeoff and return to the gate at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport Thursday.
Southwest said Friday that pilots "received an indication of a possible engine issue," and the Boeing 737 taxied back to the terminal at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport.
The Lubbock fire department said online that it confirmed there was a fire in one of the two engines that needed to be extinguished.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating the incident.
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The flight was headed to Las Vegas with 154 passengers and a crew of six on board, Southwest said. The airline flew in a replacement plane from Dallas to complete the trip later Thursday night.
Donnie Rundell, a passenger on the flight, told KLBK-TV the pilots they were escorted back to the terminal by a fire truck and that the crew "did the best they could and they took care of us."
"We were speeding up to take off and I thought we'd blown a tire on the plane. I mean it was pretty loud. But like I said, the pilots hit the breaks and everything stopped and everything was good," Rundell said.
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The plane was a Boeing 737-800, an older model than the 737 Max. The engines are made by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric and France's Safran S.A.
